Labor Day: Focus on People

“Over 75% of CEOs said their #1 challenge is finding the right people,” says Nancy K. Eberhardt, CEO of Pathwise Partners.

This Labor Day, it is imperative to be candid about your company’s workforce and ask the hard questions:

Do we have the right people in the right jobs doing the right things – for employee and corporate success? Jim Collins, well known business consultant, author, and lecturer on the subject of company sustainability and growth, asked this question years ago, but it still is the key question.

Look at your current staff. Would you enthusiastically rehire all of them?

Have you identified your “A players”? Are you constantly re-recruiting these keepers?

Are your associates feeling the love? Do you provide great opportunities for reward, are they constantly encouraged to learn new skills, and does your culture fuel accomplishment and appreciation?

And for those of us who work for a living, this Labor Day, Eberhardt says we should ask ourselves:

Are we being true to ourselves? Assuming we are able to choose our opportunities these days, and we can meet our baseline salary requirements, are we pursuing our passion? Are we doing fulfilling work in organizations whose culture matches our values and needs? Are we doing meaningful work with colleagues we enjoy?